Is "Techie" a Bad Word in Theatre?

by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder

Theatre people have a language all their own. We “break legs” before shows, call a 10-minute break a “5,” and somehow make “gaff tape” a sacred object. But there’s one word I’ve heard used often—and recently questioned—and that’s techie.

For most of my life in and around the theatre, techie was a neutral term. Descriptive. Sometimes affectionate. It meant the people who made the magic happen backstage—the ones in black, climbing ladders, coiling cables, and keeping the show from collapsing in on itself. But recently, I’ve found myself wondering: is calling someone a techie actually disrespectful?

The first time I was challenged on it, I was doing a talkback at a student matinee. I casually referred to the crew as “the techies who made the set change look effortless.” A high school teacher approached me after and, gently but firmly, said, “You know, not everyone likes that word. Some of my students who are interested in technical theatre find it reductive.”

Reductive? That caught me off guard. I’d always thought of it as a term of endearment. I thanked her, but it stuck with me. Was I unintentionally diminishing their artistry?

Then I started paying attention.

I noticed that some folks absolutely own the word. I worked with a stage manager once who had a patch on her bag that said “Proud Techie” in bold silver letters. She wore it like a badge of honor. Same with the lighting designer who joked that she “wasn’t allowed on stage because I’m a techie, not a spotlight hog.”

But I’ve also heard others bristle at it. One former classmate in college—who went on to design sets for major regional theatres—told me she never liked being called a techie because “it made it sound like I wasn’t an artist. Like I was just plugging in wires.”

That’s what it comes down to, I think: respect.

Calling someone a techie isn’t inherently offensive. But it can feel dismissive if it’s used to separate people into the old “above the line / below the line” theatre hierarchy—actors and directors on one side, tech crew on the other. And let’s be real, that dynamic still exists in some places, even if we wish it didn’t.

In the best theatre companies I’ve worked with, there’s no divide. The lighting designer is every bit as critical to the storytelling as the lead actor. The sound board operator holds the tension of an entire scene in their finger. The deck crew hits their cues like clockwork or the illusion falls apart.

Maybe that’s why the word hits differently depending on who’s saying it—and how.

When a fellow theatre person uses techie with understanding and camaraderie, it can feel like a nickname, a shorthand for “you do the work I could never do.” But when it’s tossed off by someone who doesn’t understand the depth of the craft, it can sound like a brush-off.

So, is calling someone a techie disrespectful?

It depends. On context. On tone. On the person. On whether you see technical theatre as essential to the art form or just something happening behind the curtain.

Personally, I’m trying to be more mindful. I still love the word in the right settings—when it’s said with love, pride, and maybe a little sawdust in the air. But I’m also learning to ask, to listen, and to let people define their roles in their own terms.

Because whether they prefer “technician,” “designer,” “crew,” or yes, techie—the people who work backstage are the ones who make theatre actually happen. And that deserves more than just the right label. It deserves our full respect.